By Lisa McPeek

The leaves aren’t the only things changing on Otterbein College’s campus this fall.

As students return to school, they will be greeted by a new face and new facilities, much of which will be commemorated in October.

Topping the list of changes, students, faculty and the Westerville community will welcome Dr. Kathy A. Krendl as Otterbein’s new president, following the retirement of longtime president C. Brent DeVore. While her leadership became official July 1, her inauguration (the first in 25 years) is set for Oct. 23 during Otterbein’s Homecoming Weekend.

Krendl’s arrival makes her Otterbein’s first female president and the 20th president since the college was founded in 1847.

In addition to the changing of the guard, a Presidents’ Gallery debuted in June on the second floor of Towers Hall. Constructed using private donations, the gallery features profiles of each of Otterbein’s 19 past presidents (presidents are featured in the gallery after their term is completed). Eight-foot-tall stained glass windows that were previously a part of Towers Hall were also restored for the opening.

The gallery is open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is self-guided.

The creation of the gallery provided a perfect chance to display Otterbein as an established college with rich history, says Donna Burtch, interim vice president for institutional advancement.

“Where we are now has everything to do with these great people from the past,” she says. “Before the gallery, there wasn’t a place to go to see all that history in one place.”

Burtch adds she hopes the gallery will encourage a new layer of understanding toward Otterbein’s past amongst students, faculty and alumni.

The campus science center renovation will also be dedicated this fall. The center is comprised of two connected buildings, one built in 1920 and the other in 1970. The interiors of both buildings were aging and no longer fit the best interests of students. But instead of demolition, the center was gutted and renovated to meet modern scientific standards. The renovation includes a 33,000-square-foot addition.

Donors, students, faculty and members of the community are invited to the open house and dedication Oct. 9.

College staff and faculty are also proud of the new Equine Center. The pastures and stalls used by the college for the past 25 years were leased and located in Galena. The new facility sits on a 111-acre stretch of land owned by the college along Spring Street.

While the Equine Center isn’t expected to be fully completed until spring 2010, with a dedication to follow, several pieces of the privately funded project are finished and will be open for use in the fall.

“We’re starting to see the transformation from where the center was to where it is now and it’s amazing,” Burtch says.

The new facility will ultimately feature classrooms, an outdoor arena for special events, a riding trail and several outdoor pastures. The number of horse stalls doubled from 25 to 50, allowing enrollment to double to 150 students within the next 10 years.

For more information and times for these events as they are released, visit www.otterbein.edu.

Lisa McPeek is a contributing writer for Westerville Magazine.